Angry Birds game 350 million copies sold

September 13, 2011

Game maker Rovio had made 50 failed games before iPhone hit Angry Birds – but having sold 350 million copies of the 59p game, the company also sells a million Angry Birds toys and a million T-shirts every month. A film of the popular phone game is also in production – and the game itself is now arguably the most popular piece of entertainment ever. Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the top album, sold just 200 million.

Interest in the game isn’t slowing, either, with 50 million sales a month in the last three months. Two more versions are promised before Christmas.

Angry Birds maker Rovio – who made 51 failed games before their hit – are now estimated to be worth $1.2 billion.

A recent survey estimated that Britain’s economy lost more than £800 million a year to games played on smartphones such as iPhone at work. Out of the 425,000 apps in Apple’s App Store, Angry Birds has been the runaway hit. The film, to be produced in conjunction with Marvel – will explore the ’emotional connection’ gamers have with Angry Birds, a Marvel executive told Hollywood trade magazine Variety.In the game, players use catapults to fire infuriated birds at pigs hiding inside buildings made of planks.

‘Gaming has gone mainstream with Angry Birds,’ says Stuart Miles, founder of Britain’s biggest independent gadget site, ‘Everybody from my three year old son to my granny can play these games. It’s breaking down the barriers – gaming is no longer just something for spotty teenagers.’

Not content with selling 350 million copies of the game Angry Birds, makers Rovio now sell one million cuddly toys a month – and a million T-shirts.

Other proposed spin-offs include an Angry Birds cookbook – featuring eggs, which are dropped by some of the game’s characters, rather than chicken or bacon.The company recently completed financing talks, with rumours of a bidding war between media giant Disney and game company Electronic Arts. Bloomberg News estimated that Rovio – previously a tiny start-up consisting of just three Finnish students – could be worth up to $1.2 billion.